El Suelo Cortado
by MaeveSolis
Summary: Something has gone wrong. It's out of control and there's no one to help. Is there? Merchant/Ashley.


A Merchant/Ashley pairing

_A Merchant/Ashley pairing. Code 1. _

_I make no claim of ownership and make no profit from this fan-work._

Two weeks? No…was it three? It could have been months for all she knew. Something had complicated her retrieval, according to Leon. He wouldn't tell her what exactly. All she knew was that now they had to stay in this freaky place longer. So, whenever she awoke in the middle of night- she assumed- to noises that didn't quite sound right, she'd crawl over to Leon and shake his shoulder. The first time she tried it, she could say now that Leon did not like being shaken awake, not one bit.

"Dammit, Ashley! I could have taken your head right off! Don't _do_ that!"

"But I heard a noise." She whispered, still frightened. What if _they_ came back? What if when Leon wasn't there? They would take her again. She didn't want to see them anymore. She didn't want to see any of this anymore.

"If you haven't noticed, we're in a facility full of those damn cultists. Of course there's gonna be noises. Now, if you will shut up, let's get some sleep." He replied, brushing the hair away from his eyes. Ashley couldn't help but be distracted. His hair looked nice. More often than not, she found herself wanting to brush it away for him.

"Ashley." His tone left no room for argument. With a final glance at the now-glaring man, she scooted back over to her spot. Her knees ached at their bare contact with the grubby, stone floor. Settling back into where she had been sleeping, she curled her legs into her as she lay on her side. They had to get out of here soon. Didn't Leon have any contacts? She knew about that…what was her name? Hennigun? That sounded close.

"Leon?"

No answer.

"Leon, can I ask you something?"

Nothing.

"Please?"

…

"What?" His voice biting and cranky.

"Don't you have anyone that can help us? What about that Hennigun woman?"

"Hunnigan. Her name is Hunnigan, and no, I lost contact with Ingrid when I got to the island."

"Isn't there anyone else?"

"…No. Any radio signals are scrambled in this area." He replied shortly. Ashley heard clothes shifting and she turned her head towards the sound.

Leon was removing the holsters on his shirt. It looked like he didn't expect anything wrong to happen at the moment. She wanted to yell at him. But it's not like she knew anything about fighting. He was the operative and she had to follow him. To do so otherwise would probably mean her death…or worse.

When he had bust through the door and broken open the cell, she was so relieved that he wasn't one of those weirdoes that she kept quiet about what they had done. If she did tell him, he might leave her and go back to whatever wonderful place he had sprung from.

She had it now. It didn't make her feel any different. At times she cried, because after seeing Leon shoot the head off of one who did, it reminded her. Would he have to do the same to her? She hoped that when he did, it would be painless.

CRASH

"Leon!"

"Ashley, stay there!"

"Leooon!"

They had found them. So many had found them. It looked they were surrounded.

"Ashley! Go hide. Now!"

She finally obeyed. Frantically looking around, there was only one place to duck in. There was a mass of dilapidated crates lying nearby. She quickly dove behind their opaque shelter and peeked out from one of the sides to keep an eye on Leon. She vaguely kept track of the creatures hitting the ground, writhing before a bullet silenced them. One. Two. Three...Seven...Ten. Leon was becoming a better shot. Aware of her own current actions, or lack thereof, she suddenly felt so useless. Not only was she a damsel-in-distress, she couldn't even do anything about it. If only there was some way to defend herself, so Leon didn't have to.

"You can come out now, Ashley."

As she lifted herself out of the surrounding boxes, she saw what had appeared to be a look of satisfaction pass in his eyes. The next moment, it was gone and his usual scowl was in place.

"Those bastards made me waste a couple of mags. Let's go look for that guy in the cloak."

She timidly agreed and followed after him.

After an hour, keeping their eyes peeled for that blue flame, it appeared as if their weapons supplier had vanished.

"I'd never thought I'd say this, but I miss that creepy bastard."

"Good to know I'm missed, Strangah."

They both jumped and turned around towards the voice. There, in the corridor, the Merchant stood holding the eerie torch. He set it down and unfastened the buttons from the eyelets on his heavy cloak. After, he let his arm drop and he waited patiently and silently. Leon didn't seem to happy about his previous admonition being overheard but he squared his shoulders and walked as calmly as possible towards the strange seller. Ashley stayed where she was.

"It seems, Strangah, that ya beat me to this location."

"Yeah, yeah. I need some ammo."  
The Merchant held out his hand. Leon shoved the money into it. They could tell he was grinning underneath that bandanna. About what exactly, they sure as hell didn't know.

After receiving the goods Leon wanted, he clicked open his attaché and crammed the cartridges into a corner.

"Come on, Ashley. Let's go."

He glanced at her to see her staring off into space.

"Did. you. hear. me? I said let's go."

"No."

"What?"

She felt like she had gotten an idea. Something that _could_ work. And she hoped it did.

Marching past Leon, she stood right in front of the Merchant. His eyes turned interestedly to her. She straightened her back for extra measure.

"I want you to teach me how to use a gun."

Leon stared.

The Merchant chuckled. He regarded her petulant stance and his gaze flickered over to Leon's incredulous expression before returning to hers.

"Alright."

TBC


End file.
